  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  This painting, made for the Convent of San Antonio de Padua in Seville, has been mentioned since 1700s as a work of significance. Historically attributed to Francisco Herrera the Elder, new scholarship indicates it is by Alonso Cano, who trained with Diego Vel&Atilde;&iexcl;zquez in Seville. Cano, who was from Granada, painted this monumental canvas around 1636, before he moved to Madrid in 1638 to work for King Philip IV. 
The painting depicts a rarely seen episode from the life of Saint Anthony that occurred when he went to preach in Rimini on the Adriatic coast. The populace refused to listen, so he addressed the fishes&acirc;&#128;&#148;they hold their heads out of the water to better hear his sermon. Here, the saint is shown kneeling and opening his arms to the fish, while a Franciscan gestures in surprise at the miracle. The size, scale, and loose painting technique suggest that the work was meant to be seen from a distance.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
  
  
  Title
  St. Anthony Preaching to the Fishes
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1630
  
  Artist
  Attributed to Francisco de Herrera the Elder
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1576-1656
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Spanish
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  ----------
  
  
  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 90 1/2 &Atilde;&#151; 78 3/4 inches (229.9 &Atilde;&#151; 200 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, Jill Ford Murray Fund, and gift from Shirley A. Mopper by exchange
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2013.7
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
